In the waters of Odesa oblast, the SSU detained a foreign cargo ship and its captain, who worked for russia.

The ship was flying the flag of one of the Central African countries, and its crew was fulfilling an order from russia to export Ukrainian grain from the temporarily occupied Crimea.

According to the investigation, the ship repeatedly docked at the Sevastopol seaport to pick up the looted agricultural produce during 2023-2024.

The vessel then transported the grain to the Middle East for the benefit of the aggressor state.

To hide the crime, the captain periodically turned off the ship’s GPS tracker and entered false information into the route and anchorage log.

In this way, he helped the ruscists export multi-ton consignments of Ukrainian grain stolen from the temporarily occupied regions of southern Ukraine.

The investigation established that the captain of the cargo ship is a citizen of one of the South Caucasus states. Apart from him, the crew included 12 other foreigners.

During the search on board the vessel, the SSU found documents, navigation aids and other material evidence of the crime.

The SSU has notified the captain of suspicion under Article 332-1.2 of the CCU (violation of the procedure for entering and leaving the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine).

The court is to decide on a measure of restraint for the suspect, who faces up to 5 years in prison.

The vessel in question has been towed to Odesa oblast and arrested by a court decision. The investigation is ongoing.

The operation was carried out by the SSU Offices in the Crimea and Odesa region jointly with the Maritime Guard units of the SBGS under the procedural supervision of the Prosecutor’s Office.